Astana International Forum Kicks Off

Astana, June 8, 2023 – The  Astana International Forum (AIF) kicks off today at the Kazakh capital. The high-level event under the theme Tackling Challenges Through Dialogue: Towards Cooperation, Development & Progress includes keynote speeches, discussions, and side events, covering issues related to the economy, energy, climate, and regional cooperation and development.

The event is chaired by the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and is designed to unite the efforts of the world community to find consolidated responses to the unprecedented challenges associated with growing geopolitical tensions and a radical transformation of traditional models of interstate cooperation.

The event was attended by more than 1,000 foreign guests - heads of state and government, heads of international organizations and companies, politicians, representatives of expert, business and academic circles, as well as the world's largest media.

More than 300 foreign delegates, including the heads of the IMF, WTO, ADB, EBRD, OSCE, UNESCO, SCO, OSCE PA, representatives of the OECD and the US Trade Mission, as well as members of the Foreign Investors Council, will consider models of interstate cooperation and formation of new global partnerships.

Among the speakers of the panel sessions is the Head of the Foreign Economic Directorate of the State Secretariat of the Economic Affairs of Switzerland, Ivo Germann. Nicola Popovic, Head of the Zinc and Lead Department of Glencore International, represents Switzerland’s large business.

In addition, representatives of such Swiss companies as «Herculis Partners», «GWF», «Inoks Capital», «SICPA», «Roche», «SGS» and «Ammann Group» participate in the event.

The Astana International Forum invites all interested parties to join a closer dialogue, to jointly come to clear and effective solutions to global problems in four key areas:

- Foreign policy and international security

- International development and sustainability

- Energy and climate change

- Economics and finance.

These areas form the basis of the program, which includes more than 40 panel sessions, informal discussions and other extracurricular activities.